Some of Last Chance U's Fan Favorite Players Have Finally Made it to the NFL

Part of the fun of Netflix’s sports-doc series, Last Chance U—where D-1 burnouts grind it out in junior college football in hopes of making it to the NFL—is finding out where the players end up after the credits roll.

Even though there's always a Remember the Titans-esque postscript at the end of every season (but set to a drumline instead of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”), you usually only find out the next few months of each player's life. Season Four, which dropped last Friday, is no different—at the end of the last episode, we find out the fate of linebacker Bobby Bruce, quarterback Malik Henry, and head coach Jason Brown—which we won’t spoil here.

Ronald Ollie, defensive lineman, Season One

Last time the show checked in with the fun-loving, hard-hitting lineman, things were looking up: Ollie accepted an offer from Nicholls State, where he finally added the discipline to go along with his NFL-ready athleticism.

Now, it looks like we’ll be getting the Hard Knocks-Last Chance U crossover we’ve always wanted—after going undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft, Ollie signed a deal with the Oakland Raiders to participate in rookie minicamp. Though it might only amount to a short cameo—he was waived from the roster on Tuesday. We'll see when Hard Knocks returns to HBO on August 6.

Alan Markfield/Netflix

Buddy Stephens, head coach, Seasons One and Two

Season Two of Last Chance U saw Buddy with a new lease on life. After watching himself in Season One brawling with referees, karate-kicking a camera, and cursing like he’s in a Scorsese flick, he vowed to be a little more Steve Kerr and a little less Bobby Knight in Season Two. It looks like the zen paid off: Since Netflix left Scooba, Coach Buddy and EMCC won the 2017 and 2018 JUCO National Championships. He’s now gearing up for the 2019 season.

Alan Markfield/Netflix

Brittany Wagner, academic advisor, Seasons One and Two

You think Ms. Brittany was a star before? Earlier this month, Deadline broke the news that Michael Strahan’s production company is developing a show based on Wagner and her time at Last Chance U. It’ll air on Spectrum, with Courtney Cox in the leading role. In the meantime, Wagner continues to work as a consultant and motivational speaker, asking audiences around the country if they have a pencil.

Alan Markfield/Netflix

John Franklin III, quarterback, Season One

As far as raw talent goes on Last Chance U, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone better than John Franklin III, who’s such a freakish athlete that coaches have long struggled to find the right position for him. After the show, he accomplished his dream of playing for Auburn in 2017—but only started one game. He transferred to Florida Atlantic University to play for Lane Kiffin, who set Franklin III loose as a rusher-receiver. In January, he signed a reserve contract with the Chicago Bears. Oh, and he’s still fast as all hell—his speed nabbed him $50,000 in last month’s “40 Yards of Gold” tourney.

Dakota Allen, linebacker, Season Two

Allen’s story shows exactly why JUCO football is so important: After he was charged with second-degree burglary and expelled from Texas Tech (the charges were later dropped), he showed what made him a D-1 talent with a monster 2016 season at EMCC.

He returned to Texas Tech in 2017, where he racked up an insane 165 tackles over the next two seasons—which was impressive enough for the Los Angeles Rams to take him with the 251st overall pick in this year’s draft. That makes him the first Last Chance U player drafted into the NFL—we’ll see if he’ll share the field with Aaron Donald and Aqib Talib come September.

Isaiah Wright, running back, season two

Last Chance U already showed us Wright’s unfortunate JUCO exit: he was charged with one count of criminal homicide for the stabbing and death of 18-year-old Caleb Thomas Radford. He eventually accepted a plea deal and the charges were dropped, but he went through 11 months of incarceration in the meantime. Knox News caught up with Wright in April, where he’s living with his family—and even playing football again. He’s rostered in the IAFL—a semi pro league—as a running back for the Alcoa Alloys.

Kerry Buckmaster, center, season three

After his time with the Pirates, Buckmaster announced that he would finish his college career at West Texas A&M. It looks like he’s not playing football at the moment, tweeting in March: “My apologies..I got to do what’s best for me and this ain’t it anymore.” But that hasn’t stopped him from Twittering with old teammates and re-upping Last Chance U happenings.

Alan Markfield

Carlos Thompson, wide receiver, Season Three

Infamously, Thomas is one of those Last Chance U on-again-off-again players—beefing with the coach one week, and ripping touchdowns the next. But Thompson genuinely seemed to change for the better, stepping up to lead the Pirates at the end of Season Three. It’s a little unclear where Thompson’s career stands—he spent the 2018 season at Missouri Western University, and in January, News-Press Now reported that Thompson would forgo his senior year to prepare for the draft. He went undrafted and remains unsigned—although, he recently asked his Twitter followers if he should try modeling and acting.

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